“We now see a two-dimensional split where there is the activity on one dimension and there’s the identity of the organization on the other dimension. Think of World Vision as opposed to CARE — two organizations that do similar things but they have two different identities – one has a religious identity (World Vision) and the other doesn’t.”

Mark Ottoni-Wilhelm

The last piece of the giving pie — 27 percent — goes to non-religiously identified organizations that focus on some of the same social needs as religious groups and other causes such as wildlife preservation or climate change.

Because of the mix of religious and secular groups that receive 59 percent of charitable giving to fund non-congregational work, the past distinction of religious giving doesn't work anymore, Ottoni-Wilhelm said.

"We now see a two-dimensional split where there is the activity on one dimension and there’s the identity of the organization on the other dimension," he said. "Think of World Vision as opposed to CARE — two organizations that do similar things but they have two different identities – one has a religious identity (World Vision) and the other doesn’t."

He said the value of seeing those two dimensions is that it offers insight into the role religious identification plays in giving — both by the giver and the receiver.

When it comes to the religious identity of the organization, 55 percent of those surveyed give to some type of organization with religious ties, but 53 percent also support organizations without religious ties.

The picture isn't so evenly split among givers, however. The data show the more religious someone says they are the more they give to all types of organizations, from their congregation (to which they donate the most) to non-religious organizations.

While it's no surprise 58 percent of people who consider themselves religious and spiritual give to their local congregation, 56 percent of that same group contribute to non-religious charities compared with 51 percent of those who consider themselves spiritual but not religious and 42 percent of those who say they are neither spiritual or religious.

Broadening the donor base

But that doesn't mean religious charities should ignore the irreligious in their fundraising efforts. Ottoni-Wilhelm said 42 percent is a significant amount of people that religious charities should pay attention to and try to expand.

"It means many of that group are on board with the work you are doing," he said. "We want people that work in organizations that have a religious identification to realize a chunk of their donors support them because of the work that they do even though those donors don’t have a religious affiliation."

And that strategy applies for secular charities as well.

"Don’t ignore reality that a lot of donors have religious affiliations or religion is important in their lives," he said.

He said a non-religiously identified organization could attract more religious donors through messaging that says their organization may not be affiliated with a religion and belief system, but a lot of religious people support our work because we have a vision of compassion and social justice.

Some religious-affiliated charities are aware of their broad-based support and carefully cultivate it.

Amy Parodi, a spokeswoman for World Vision, said communicating to a broad audience about World Vision and its work — without hiding or unintentionally misleading people about our faith-based identity — is top-of-mind in the organization.

"We have partnerships with secular groups — corporations, minor celebrities, sports teams, etc. — who don't necessarily share our faith, and we certainly have many donors who don't share our faith," she wrote in an email. "But as an organization, we've determined that our Christian identity is still very relevant for us and is something that we want to be clear about — and true to — even if that requires some occasional explanation for the audiences that we reach out to."

My own experience is that those who contribute to their
churches are also the most active in community volunteerism. Also, that the
"spiritual" side does a LOT of counseling and working with folks to get
them financially
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6:20 a.m. Jan. 9, 2014

Top comment

Tyler D

Meridian, ID

It would be informative to see a study that measured the amounts given to pure
charity vs. a church or any missionary-type activity. The article says
“The data show the more religious someone says they are the more they give
to all types of
More..

Matt is an enterprise team editor. Before, he wrote about faith how it is lived, how it intersects with society and how current trends affect religious practice. He has worked for more than 12 years as an editor, most more ..